thursdaysd

Thanks for the continuing detailed report. Word of warning for those considering the Alla Guidecca - not all rooms are created equal! If you want one with a balcony and sea view, insist on that when you book. My rooms, while large, were dark and faced a back alley, and were in a second building, just down the street from the main one.

Ian

Day 7 – Siracusa (Part 2)

After the drive & eventual success at finding our hotel & baggage hauling (3 flights of stairs was not the funnest part of this hotel btw so be forewarned) we hit the street for a late lunch. We found the Piazza Archimedes that we had driven through & it had a couple of café options. We choose one – sorry no name here. Service was semi-cafeteria style. You go in & chose your food & the waiter brings the food & beverage to your outside table. We had some yummy fried bready thing with meat & red sauce inside. And a glass of wine . . . I forget the price but it wasn’t expensive. Ahh . . . I knew sitting there that we were going to really like Ortygia.

Me looking very relaxed – note the near empty glass of wine . . .

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...archimedes.jpg

Fontana di Diana that dominates the piazza & faces the restaurant

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...cusa/diana.jpg

After the repast, we just bummed around the streets a bit & crashed at the hotel for a siesta.

Piazza Duomo

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...zza-duomo1.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...zza-duomo2.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...zza-duomo4.jpg

A large artwork in the Piazza Duomo

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...zza-duomo3.jpg

A courtyard

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...gainvillea.jpg

A street

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/ortygia2.jpg

The sea

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/ortygia1.jpg

After a rest, I tried to call our chosen restaurant (L’Ancora - Via Guglielmo Perno, 7 - 0931462369) for reservations but there was no answer. We decided to walk over for a look even though it was far too early for dinner – it was only 6:30 pm. The restaurant wasn’t open but staff was milling around so we reserved a table outside in the ‘tent’ area for 8 pm. Reserving was a very wise decision since it was Friday night & the restaurant was turning people away by 9:30 pm. And the ‘tent’ area seats were the primo ones & they disappeared very quickly.

To kill time we walked the streets & viewed the Tempio di Appolo that dominates the main piazza nearby.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/ortygia3.jpg

Dinner was great. This is an all fish restaurant that is very popular with locals. Make reservations. We split a clam spaghetti primi & we each had some whole fish as a main. We are not big seafood eaters but it was very good. 88€ with some 22€ Nero D’Avola wine that I forgot to write down.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/lancoro.jpg

The Tempio di Appolo after dark.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/ortygia4.jpg

Some night shots I took in the serious cool & spooky laneways in the old Arab quarter on the walk back. Please excuse the blurriness – but these are ‘art’ shots anyway . . .

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/ortygia5.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/ortygia6.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/kittens.jpg

Ian

Good point, thursdaysd

Our balcony hovered over a small inner courtyard that was another room's outside area. This hotel is 'eclectic' shall we say?

Ian

Ian

Oh btw Mimar

You may breathe easy, I didn't harm the kittens with a flash.

Ian

Zerlina

The "fried bready thing" is an arancino di riso, a breaded and fried rice ball with a filling, which is not always meat and red sauce.

Ian

Thanks Zerlina

I knew someone would help. We had them with rice in Modica. They are always quite tasty.

Ian

Ian

Day 8 Siracusa

After breakfasting at our hotel, we made our way over to the Parco Archeologico. This is the area over in Siracusa that sports the major ruins. I didn’t want to lose our prime parking spot near the hotel & so we taxied over & back for minimal cost. It is a tourist zoo with buses & tour groups galore. To get tickets, you have to ‘run the gauntlet’ of ticky-tacky vendors & the ticket office is way down at the end.

Across the road in the park, you enter left to see the Roman amphitheater or go straight to get to the other ruins. The amphitheater lies in an unkempt field & could use a good grooming.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/siracusa.jpg

The Greek theater was a big disappointment. My Michelin Guide calls it “one of the most impressive theaters to survive from Antiquity.” Well, it looks like the local arts community has made sure that it is almost unrecognizable. They are obviously staging a major production in it this summer & they had some awful silver backdrop installed as well as some humped platform in the theater bed. They overlaid many of the seats with wooden ones. While I am a supporter of using these old venues today – if fact I have been to the Roman theater in Vienne, France for the jazz festival on 2 separate occasions – they surely have spoiled this from a touristic standpoint. I assume that it is all reversible but it certainly killed our photo opps.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../siracusa2.jpg

Other pics from this site:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../siracusa3.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../siracusa4.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../siracusa5.jpg

We went back to Ortygia for lunch in one of the tourist restaurants in the Piazza Duomo. We had a cheap pizza & cold drinks for 10€. After that we wandered the town & discovered a Saturday market over on Via de Benedictis. We picked up some spices & goodies to bring home. I wish we could buy tomatoes like that here.

Market pics:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/market1.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/market2.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/market3.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/market4.jpg

Ortygia is a maze of twisty streets with many wonderful old decrepit buildings. It yields the best feel of medieval/baroque city that we have ever visited – especially at night. Many of the buildings are peeling & crumbling but there is scaffolding on a lot of the streets as renewal takes place. Palazzos are everywhere, with the sea never more than a few blocks away. It is wonderfully walkable although you are constantly dodging cars & motorcycles on the busier streets. It is touristed but not crushingly so. We loved it. We found that 2 nights was enough for us.

More general Ortygia pics:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/ortygia9.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/ortygia8.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/ortygia7.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../ortygia13.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../ortygia11.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../ortygia10.jpg

For dinner, we followed someone’s internet recommendation & we booked the Osteria da Mariano (Vicolo Zuccola, 9 – 093167444). This small restaurant spills out into an alleyway. The owner greets you & seats you & takes your wine & appetizer order. We opted for red ‘jug’ wine & some meat dishes & had a great meal sitting in the alley for 50€. People were lined up waiting for tables when we left so reservations would be advisable. Recommended.

Ian

Day 9 Modica

Up until this point of the trip, we had visited places that are very common destinations. Taormina & Ortygia are ancient & they were touristed in Roman times let alone by the cruise ship visitors of today. When I was planning the trip, we decided that it would be a good idea to base ourselves in one place for 4 nights after the initial flurry of activity to visit those ‘must see’ spots. After playing with the itinerary in many ways, it finally made sense to rest a bit around the baroque towns in the south east part of Sicily. So the decision was Nota, Modica or Ragusa or one of the agritourism places in the countryside. All of the options offered charm with seemingly easy access to each other & to other nearby towns as well as a beach area if the temps hit the searing level (like they did in Roma). I eliminated the agri option because we didn’t want to be trapped for that long without easy restaurant options. Nota didn’t appeal either as a base for one reason or another. After a lot of reading & studying, I decided that Modica was the best option for us. It was. I will explain as this unfolds.

We packed & left Ortygia easily Sunday morning. Traffic was light – except when I pulled over in Siracusa to adjust my GPS. Why is that? The roads can be absolutely empty, but as soon as you do something different – turn around, pull over etc – there will be an endless parade of cars for the next 5 minutes? I know, Murphy at work . . .

Anyway, even Siracusa’s rotary was vacant of mania so the drive to the highway was fine. We jumped on the nice 4 lane freeway (E45) that looped southwest heading towards Modica. No traffic. Beautiful scenery. The sun was shining. I wasn’t really minding the map since my English honey was telling me what to do. I knew the freeway ended just past Nota. We skipped Nota btw because we planned to side trip to Ragusa & just how many Baroque towns can you handle in 4 days anyway? The highway ends & throws you off at Rosolini. This is where SHE decides to take us on a scenic route. Note to self: always review the GPS route before you start. SHE took us north through the streets of Rosolini & then on to a narrow 2 lane road heading towards the Cava d’Ispica in the hinterlands. I am sure that SHE calculated that it was 100 meters closer via this route versus staying on the 2 lane version of E45 all the way to Modica. It was actually a great drive with nice ups & downs as we dove into the hills & vales of this farmland area.

A really nice side benefit of a GPS is that you can eliminate 90% of the map arguments that you have with your spouse aka your navigator. Now you have an anonymous, inanimate object that you both can swear at. Ahh . . . togetherness . . .

So around noon on Sunday, we approached Modica from the east. And entered into mayhem.

Geographically, Modica’s main drag with several forks lays in the bottom of a valley in the old riverbed of connecting rivers. The rivers are now underground & the town climbs up from these ‘riverbeds’ on all sides. So it’s actually easy to drive through except on Sunday at noon when every resident in town is parked on this main drag & or circling looking for parking. The road was a zoo. People, cars, buses everywhere. My GPS – yes, HER again – kept insisting that I turn up alleyways that dead-ended with stairs or were blocked by parked cars or were seemingly too narrow for a car. I knew the hotel was on a street that ran parallel & only one block west. After driving up & down this street (Corso Umberto of course) I spiked up a side street thinking there might be a back way in. But in Modica, a side street takes you up. And up fast. After a couple of hairpin turns we were high above Modica when SHE tells me to turn right – and down a 50 ft staircase. No, I don’t think so. I parked the car to calm my nerves. Then it was down into the fray on Corso U again – which sports not 1 but 2 rotaries smack dab in the middle of things. I finally located a spot at the north end of the lower town near the bus stop. We locked the car & walked to the hotel – again.
Corso Umberto I in Modica

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...so-umberto.jpg

The alley to the hotel (last door on left)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../magnolie1.jpg

And yes, the hotel was exactly where I thought & that SHE said it was. But there was only one narrow laneway in. I deduced that it was a ‘no way’ road for me. There were also several staircases that led up to this street from the Corso U. We immediately christened the closest one bird s**t stairs for obvious reasons. The lady at check-in was great & calmed us down. She told us to wait an hour or so until siesta time & there would be lots of parking on the Corso U much closer to the hotel. And she told us that parking was free on Sundays but come Monday morning at 8:30 am, we would need a parking ticket that she could supply for 1.60€ for ½ day parking in blue areas. They were the scratch & win type of tickets but you didn’t win anything.

We went for a coffee & a Panini across the road at a corner café. At 1€ it was the cheapest espresso we had seen in Italy. This trend was to continue in Modica. As the hotel girl had told us, there were lots of parking spots by the time we finished & the whole town quieted down. We moved the car & hauled our bags up to our room in La Magnolie Hotel.

Website http://www.lemagnoliehotel.it/

This hotel was also a roll of the dice. It was a new boutique hotel with only 7 rooms & very few reviews anywhere. Once again it proved a perfect spot for us. Our room had a large living room, a large bedroom & a bath with a Jacuzzi tub. Very modern décor & as needed - a balcony – a small one looking over the alley in front & the rooftops but big enough to feed our habit. The hotel also had a rooftop terrace that looked over to the main part of the town that no one used but us. They also had a breakfast room – with a modest breakfast every morning & a wine tasting room that we never used.

Room: La Calle

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../magnolie2.jpg

The flower on the ceiling reflects the name of the room . . .

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../magnolie3.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../magnolie4.jpg

The view from our ‘personal’ balcony

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../magnolie5.jpg

The view from the hotel’s rooftop terrace

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../magnolie6.jpg

Closeup of the same

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../magnolie7.jpg

We moved in & walked a bit more of the town. For dinner, I handed my recommended list to the girl at reception to make a reservation. She nixed most of the list as over priced & suggested the Osteria dei Sapori Perduti (Cosro Umberto I, 228 – 0932944247). We arrived at 8 pm as the 1st customers – as usual. We sat in a sidewalk table. This restaurant was a treat. The menu was in Sicilian but they had a translation book with English, Italian & German & pictures of the dishes. We ordered jug red wine & split an antipasti. We also split a wonderful meatball pasta soup. I had pork & my wife had mixed meats. The whole bill was only 28.70€! And the food was great! We also got into a lengthy talk with our table neighbors who were vacationing from Stuttgart. A great evening. A definite recommendation.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ca/osteria.jpg

After dinner we took our mobile bar up to the hotel's terrace for after dinner drinks. Very, very nice.

emeraldgreen

This is such a great trip report. I'm heading to Sicily this week, and was just about to rent a car. We're starting in Trapani, and driving along the north coast, west to Agrigento, and back up to Trapani. I'm a 28 year old female, and though many people might jump on me for throwing my gender under the bus, I just don't know if I am a good enough driver for this!! Husband can't drive stick, so it would be all me. Thanks for the food for thought.

Ian

emeraldgreen

You should be fine. Just take care. Be forewarned that Palermo is pretty chaotic. And driving in hilltop towns can be a challenge - especially near the central piazza. Parking is a big problem in them too so park on the edge & walk in if you can. Your mostly northerly route has the most 4 lane roads which are a breeze. The ruins in Agrigento are south of the town with easy access.

Ian

Ian

Day 10 Modica

After breakfast we decided to head to Ragusa for a day trip. I had read enough to know that the town – the old town - is car challenged so we inquired about bus options. Sure enough there was a regular direct bus that left from the lot at the north end of Corso Umberto to Ragusa. It ran several times per day so we decided that this might be the best. We bought tickets in the small eatery across the road – east side – from the stop. 3.70€ roundtrip per person. The bus trip offered stunning views for this short ride (only 14 kms or so but much of it up & down). There are 2 stops in Ragusa Alta. One on a main retail street in the upper (new) town & a major bus stop (with ticket kiosk) further along in the new town. We got off at the latter. The new town is exactly that. All of the tourist goodies are in Ragusa Ibla – the older one - the lower one. Except its not really lower. Think of Ragusa as being divided into 3 parts. All on hills with valleys in between. The new town is further south & has no real appeal. Ibla is split in the middle with a valley in between - albeit a smaller one than the surrounding valleys. Bridges connect the new with the western Ibla but it is the eastern part which has tourist appeal. A circuitous road connects the 2 parts of Ibla – there are stairs too for the physically fit according to my Michelin guide. We were not that adventurous. There also appears (on our photos & on the map) to be a newer road on the north side that allows access – think tourist buses.

The bus stop where we started was 4 kms from the touristed center of the ‘eastern’ Ibla. Are you understanding the problem here? It was hot & 2 passerbys who we asked independently told us not to walk, it was too far. They both suggested the ‘autobus’. Easier said then done when you don’t know which bus or bus stop or where to get tickets or schedule. We walked for 45 minutes or so in the blazing sun & ended up hailing a taxi. 10€ well spent. The driver left us in the main piazza by San Giorgio. The road connecting the 2 Iblas was narrow & twisty & descended down & then headed back up circuitously. This part of Ragusa Ibla is the Unesco part – and it showed. All of the buildings were nicely cleaned & ‘prettified’ - this place was geared for tourists. Pretty shops & pretty streets etc. Not like the grittier Siracusa or Modica at all. We stopped for lunch in a ristorante at the east end of the piazza & had an OK, albeit expensive meal (my wife said rip-off). We walked out to the beautiful park – the Giardino Ibleo - at the eastern end for some photo opps & it didn’t disappoint. But overall, Ragusa Ibla just felt slightly unreal somehow. We taxied back to the bus stop in the new town. We were too hot & tired for any other options. The ride back to Modica offered spectacular views of Ragusa Ibla as we left the town. We discovered that this bus also drops people in the center of Modica.

Bus stop in new town (Note: the bizarre stairs on that building)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/ragusa6.jpg

San Giorgio & the main piazza

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/ragusa1.jpg

Architecture

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/ragusa5.jpg

View northeast (Note: the train tracks below)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/ragusa3.jpg

View southeast

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/ragusa4.jpg

Park walkway

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/ragusa2.jpg

By far, the best views of Ragusa Ibla were from the bus. Maybe that is my problem with Ragusa. You can only be awed by it when you are out looking in. And that’s what we liked about Modica is you are always being awed by the geography of the town. These were shot by my wife through a bus window hurtling around corners.

You can see the dip between the 2 Ragusa Iblas at the left of the 1st picture

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/ragusa7.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/ragusa9.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/ragusa8.jpg

Part 2 to follow

Ian

Day 10 Modica (Part 2)

Back in Modica, we wander across Corso U to a café for espresso. I forget the name but it was the one with black awnings directly across from the BS stairs if it matters. A couple near us got ice creams . . . so, of course . . . we ordered one too. Yummy. The waiter disappeared inside so I went in to pay. Three ladies were buying these fried flat thingies (filled with meats, sauces, tomatoes, cheese etc – help me here Zerlina . . .). Anyways, the process of paying took 15 minutes. This is something that I commonly experienced in Sicily. The clerk & the customer often engage in long ‘discussions’ about . . . who knows? It wasn’t idle chit-chat from the tone. Are they negotiating? Talking about the gov’t? Berlusconi & his girlfiends? It happened in shops & at sites many times. I don’t know. As an ignorant fast-paced North American, I had to remember to keep my fuse turned down & wait it out. Have patience, my son . . .

Once again we asked the girl at reception in our hotel for dining choices – there were actually 3 different girls but one of them was the best with restaurant suggestions it seemed. She suggested a restaurant in Modica Alta (yeah, that’s right - the high part) for dinner – at the La Locanda del Colonnello. This restaurant is across the street in an alleyway from its partner hotel, the Palazzo Failla - which was out of our budget.

Since the restaurant was in Modica Alta, we decided that this was our opportunity to walk up. This would allow us to see the Church of San Giorgio with it’s 300 steps which is ½ way up the hill. Boy, are we out of shape. It was a long, long walk up that came close to slaying both of us. It was nice to see the architecture of the church & to wind through the streets & stairways but it was much, much more fun coming town ½ drunk after dinner. That was a lot of steps. We arrived at the restaurant at 8 pm & we were the 1st ones there by 25 minutes. We had the server’s full attention. And the chef’s too. Dinner was very, very good. Almost high-end type of presentation & atmosphere in either the outdoor patio (with cat) or inside in 3 dining areas. Shared antipasti, ravioli, a bean soup with a shared cortorno which was a meat stuffed pepper that was too large to finish. 47€ with a bottle of ’06 Morgante Nero d’Avola. The service did slide a bit as more customers arrived. Only one waiter was serving & he needed help. And he had seated everybody in different sections of the restaurant. Highly recommended with that proviso.

San Giorgio (please excuse the lens distortion)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...an-giorgio.jpg

Looking towards the west side of Corso U (where the hotel was)

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...dica-alto2.jpg

Modica Alta

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...odica-alto.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...dica-alto3.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...dica-alto4.jpg

Zerlina

"fried flat thingies" - calzoni (sing. calzone).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYWgO3vSD6M

The discussion might have been about any or all of those things. Or just about the merits/quality of one calzone vis-a-vis another. Italians discuss food with a passion most other nations reserve for topics like politics and religion.

Ian

Zerlina

I know calzoni but they were more of a thin flaky pastry batter rather then a thicker bread-type batter.

Ian

thursdaysd

"But overall, Ragusa Ibla just felt slightly unreal somehow." - I had the exact same feeling on the main street in Noto.

Great report - I'm starting to think I should go back to Sicily!

Zerlina

Ummmm, I dunno what they're called when they're made with puff-pastry dough (pasta sfoglia). It's pretty unusual, I think. Maybe a specialty of that particular bar/cafe?

Ian

Day 11 Modica

Excursion Day! It’s Excursion Day! Yes, we got an early start because we were heading to Caltigirone for ceramics shopping & on to Piazza Armerina for the Villa Romana del Casale & its mosaics. We hopped on E45 which is a fast 2 lane road. After the Ragusa exits, the hwy changed into SS514, the traffic tapered off & it was clear sailing with stunning, stunning vistas everywhere on a good road. Beautiful. Impossible to capture with photos so we didn’t even try. But believe me, its gorgeous countryside. Arriving in Caltergirone, we had no idea where to go. We looped around the north part to the west & parked so I could GPS something. I ended up picking the town center & we looped to the south. Rather than entering the city center – it was going up - oh no – I spied a parking spot that looked promising. The GPS said we were 1 km away, so we hoofed it. It was actually closer since we could go up wrong-way one-way streets which would have distressed HER. It was easy. We just aimed up & we popped around a corner & there were the steps – the Scala di Santa Maria del Monte.

Here they are:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...alagirone1.jpg

Now this was Tuesday June 2 which is Republic Day & a national holiday. Only about 1/3 of the ceramics shops - which are on either side of these stairs all the way up - were open. But we visited every . . . single . . . one. I had my patience generator on high. I had been promising this shopping opp for months so I had to follow through. The advantage to Republic Day was that the tourist body count was way, way down both here & at the Villa later which eased the pain somewhat. Much of the ceramics were touristy ticky-tacky but some of it was very good. We did discover a store at the bottom & the other side of the square which was much, more high-end & the quality & prices reflected this. Always in our mind was: you got to get it home intact – so we (or she) bought accordingly. I finally wrestled her away with a panini lunch (actually not bad from some cafeteria style place at the bottom west side of the street) – although a surge in police & crowd activity played a part. I had read that there would probably be a parade & we wanted to get on to Piazza Armerina. Seeing the parade would have been cool but places to see, things to do . . .

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...alagirone2.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...alagirone3.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...alagirone4.jpg

We retraced our steps & rescued the car quite handily & hit the road north aiming towards the Villa Romana. Now, there are 2 basic ways to get there from Caltagirone. You take the easy way with good 2 lane hwy all the way SS147 towards Gela & then north on SS117 toward Enna - or – you opt for the scenic route which is SS124 & then SS117. SHE chose SS124 (much to my secret delight). SS124 was another one of those drop dead view roads that test & delight the good driver & terrorize the passenger. After that fun, the blast north on SS117 was a breeze. And then . . . SHE kicked in again & demanded that we exit just before Piazza Armerina. Silly me, I listened & 2 turns later I was heading down a narrow paved one lane road through a forest. Hmm. This can’t be right. I backed up until I could turn around. Then ignoring HER squeals, I got back on SS117 & SHE came to HER senses & directed us through lower Piazza Armerina, back under the hwy & on to the Villa Romana del Casale. From the entry road there is a parking area to the left for 1€. You then run the gauntlet of ticky-tacky to the entrance. This site is a Roman villa that they are gradually excavating. Most of the site is covered with aluminum scaffolding suspending a light-reducing ‘tarpaulin’. You view from walkways built well above the ground to preserve the site but let you get inside. It spoils your photos though because of the crosshatching of the roof supports. Other parts are exposed.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/casale5.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/casale1.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/casale2.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/casale3.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/casale4.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/casale6.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...sa/casale7.jpg

The mosaics were very, very good but you can see everything in ½ hr or so. We chatted with some elderly retired doctors from Westchester, CT. Overall, my wife thought it wasn’t worth the drive. But then, the drive was a big chunk of the adventure for me. Except starting back . . .

We left the Villa & SHE kicked in directing us into Piazza Armerina. I was wary after HER forest trek so when SHE told me turn right, I turned left in the southern outskirts of PA. Bad move. We went up. And up. Into the narrow abyss of upper Piazza Armerina. I met a woman in a Fiat on a narrow one lane car-lined incline & she refused to give way. Both I & the truck behind me had to back up & dive to the side to let this bimbette through (my wife’s term btw or close to it . . . the driver was young & blonde). This is where I needed my electronic emergency brake trick again. I scorched the clutch nicely here. After another block, I bailed on that route & tried another. This time, I followed a car ahead of me. I figured that he knew where he was going (northerly) & if he fit through the street, then I should be able to also. This was not fun. Some of the streets were really narrow & some of the turns were . . . well . . . tight. We reached a main piazza & a sign pointed towards Caltagirone so I went for it. It spit us out of town onto an extension of SS124 . . . yeah, the twisty one. By this time, my wife was in near-hysterics & just wanted back onto the nice calm highway that we had arrived on. But we were heading in a different direction & I refused to go back through PA in case I got into the maze of narrow streets again. After about 15 kms of twisting roads & a near miss on another hill town, I saw a sign for Gela & went for it. After more twisties (but very little traffic thankfully) we got back on the highway heading south & marital bliss returned to our car. But at least we could blame HER.

This time I took the calmer route to Caltagirone & on down to Modica. It certainly was an adventure! My wife got her ceramics. And I got to see the mosaics. And my wife even complimented me on my car piloting, and this is an extremely rare occurrence.

Back in the warm cocoon of Modica, we opted for another suggestion from the hotel girl: the Ristorante Torre d'Oriente (Via Posteria, 29 – 0932948160)which was up again but only part way. It had gotten windy so we couldn’t eat on their terrace – which has a great view. Dinner was superb. The food & presentation was at least 2 Star Michelin category but once again, they slipped a bit on service as the restaurant got busier. They gave us teasers & we split a beef carpaccio. Then we split an incredible ravioli – stuffed with eggplant, ricotta etc. Then we both a had a pork contorno. All wonderful. All local produce. With a bottle of local ’06 Serasuolo di Vitoria – Valle dell’Acate. This was our best meal of the trip. 89€.

The pork dish

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...usa/torre3.jpg

The view from the Torre L’Oriente area.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...usa/torre1.jpg

Looking up from the Torre d’Oriente’s terrace to the giant painted clock. I never did figure out what the time signified.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...usa/torre2.jpg

Kristina

Ian-
I'm really enjoying your report. While I don't share your opinion on Rome, I appreciate your candor and the attempt you made to enjoy it to the fullest. I agree that you might like it more if you stayed in the center, but it's hard to beat a free room.

I haven't been to Sicily in over 5 years. Now I want to go back.

TDudette

Bookmarking.

Ian

[Errata: Please note in the previous post that I spelled Caltagirone three different ways.]

Day 12 Modica

Since we arrived in Roma, we had been on the go doing something, going somewhere - every single day we were in motion. This day was our holiday within our holiday. We didn’t get in a car, a bus, a taxi or a plane all day. So we did nothing on Day 12.

Well, not completely nothing but close. We visited several of the local chocolate shops & bought some giveaways. Modica’s chocolate is quite different than any I have had. It has a grainy texture & shops sell it in a variety of cocoa percentages & flavors. My wife saw a blouse she liked & went back without me later to try things on & she bought one. We replenished our dwindling duty-free liquor supply. We had lunch at the café with the black awnings & ate one of those "fried flat thingies" for 1.50€. They looked much better than they tasted btw. We had some gelato. You get the drift. We needed a no-pressure day.

For dinner, we repeated at Osteria dei Sapori Perduti. This time we blew the budget & had a great meat for 34€. A litre of jug red wine. That great meatball soup again. An appetizer with a mix of goodies - arancino di riso (thanks Zerlina), cheese, olives . . . Veal with eggplant for contorno. Good food.

We really liked Modica. Every corner, every turn offered a different view of the city. The people were very friendly. They tolerated our nearly complete lack of Italian & helped us perfectly wherever we went. The Corso Umberto had a wonderful mix of modern shops, palazzos, schools, chocolate shops, cafes . . . small town Sicilan life. Everything you need was closely at hand but a café was never more than 50 meters away. Step a block up the hill & you stepped back 300 years. Every time you looked around, you were surrounded by amazing vistas of stone houses, piled on stone houses with a splattering of churches. And yet you could be on the hwy in 10 minutes. It was a good base. The La Magnolie was also a great choice. The staff was very nice & very helpful with rock solid restaurant suggestions, transportation questions etc etc. We had the biggest room in the house (La Calle) for 110€ per night including breakfast – albeit pretty basic - but she did make outstanding espresso doppio & cappuccino every morning. And not to forget, the view from the terrace is stunning – day or night. Highly recommended.

The La Magnolie terrace

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3.../magnolie8.jpg

To keep you entertained until I write Day 13, here are some random Modica pics. Day 13 will be our drive to Agrigento, site visit & drive to our vineyard stay.

Speaking of entertainment this old man played a flute outside the restaurant.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...a/modica10.jpg

Misc Modica:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ca/modica1.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ca/modica3.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ca/modica2.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ca/modica4.jpg